'Tis the season for firmware and Nikon has been issuing more than most, including DSLR and discontinued camera updates. This time however it is one of the flagship cameras that is benefitting from the firmware – the Nikon Z8.
In the modern world of mirrorless cameras, firmware can often include adding new features such as AF improvements. The Nikon Z8 received such a major update in February establishing it as one of the best Nikon cameras on the market, however, this new update is more focused on fixing bugs and issues, some caused by the recent update.
Nikon states the firmware notes as the following:
Nikon Z8 (Ver 2.01)
"Changed the default values for the following settings displayed when connecting wirelessly:
• Encryption keys
• The password displayed after the camera's default settings are restored
Fixed the following issues:
• Green color casting occurred with some pictures taken.
• The date and time set in camera sometimes would not be correctly applied.
• Using [Picture review] to view an image in a “tall” (portrait) orientation and zooming in the image prevented the display from being scrolled to the intended direction with multi selector or sub-selector.
• After a firmware update, the eye sensor sometimes would not function and the viewfinder would not turn on.
• The “i” menu would sometimes remain in the viewfinder when it was looked through after the shutter-release button was pressed halfway to exit the “i” menu viewed in the monitor."
In this update, Nikon has addressed some important issues that were affecting both user experience and the camera output. Most notably a green color is cast across images which may not have been such an important issue for RAW shooters as it would have been salvageable, but for those shooting JPEG, it may have altered the image beyond repair.
Other fixes to the EVF and the menu navigation have also been issues to improve/restore ease of use functionality.
Updating firmware can be a bit daunting when you haven't done it before, but Nikon offers a helpful step-by-step guide that can be found on the download page.
For more information on Nikon products, see our guides on the best Nikon cameras, the best Nikon Z lenses, and the best Nikon portrait lenses.
